We leave Cusco (3,400 m / 11,155 ft) early in the morning and head for the cloud forest, where the Andes fall away to the Amazon basin. On the way, we visit a high mountain wetland with migrant and local waterfowl and cross two mountain ranges between the Cusco and Paucartambo valleys, reaching a maximum altitude of 3,900 m / 12,795 ft. We stop at mountain villages and at the pre-Inca burial towers (chullpas) of Ninamarca. At the Ajanaco pass, the entrance to Manu National Park, the Andes begin their plunge into the Amazon basin – in clear weather, the view over the cloud forest down to the lowland rainforest is breathtaking. After lunch, we descend through elfin forest into a magical world of giant ferns, orchids, bromeliads and begonias. With frequent stops, we may spot quetzals, trogons or guans before reaching the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge in the afternoon.

Early in the morning, we visit the nearby lek to watch the Andean cock-of-the-rock, Peru's blazing red national bird, in full courtship display – nowhere else can so many of these spectacular birds be seen so easily. The best months are September to November, but the males display all year round. After a hearty breakfast, we explore the forest along the road near the lodge and the trails through the valley. Among waterfalls, orchids, bromeliads, ferns and mosses, we look out for golden-headed quetzals, grey-breasted mountain toucans, blue-crowned motmots, umbrellabirds, blue-banded toucanets, tanagers and many hummingbirds – and with luck woolly or brown capuchin monkeys. The afternoon is free to relax on the lodge's viewing platform or on your private balcony overlooking the cloud forest.

After an early breakfast, we continue by road to the mid-elevation forest and watch the last Andean foothills give way to the vast Amazon basin. We arrive at the Villa Carmen Biological Station, which covers more than 3,000 ha (7,500 acres) within the Manu Biosphere Reserve. Its elevation ranges from about 520 m / 1,706 ft to 1,200 m / 3,937 ft, covering old-growth rainforest, lower montane forest, secondary forest, bamboo, streams and waterfalls. In the afternoon, we explore the trails with our guide and spend the rest of the day relaxing at the station.

After breakfast, we follow the road towards Atalaya, where upland and lowland bird species mingle. We look out for paradise and masked crimson tanagers, blue-crowned trogons, blue-headed parrots and macaws, bluish-fronted jacamars and the endangered military macaw. On the way, we stop at hummingbird gardens with many species of hummingbirds, woodpeckers and barbets – and perhaps monkeys. In the late afternoon, we return to Villa Carmen.

After an early breakfast, we drive back up the cloud forest road, stopping again and again to look for birds we have already seen and new ones – and perhaps the monkeys that have eluded us so far. Through the enchanting mountain landscape, we return to Cusco, where we arrive at your hotel in the late afternoon or early evening.